Key developments on Aug. 19: * Ukraine in control of 92 settlements in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Zelensky claims * Ukraine hits 3rd bridge in Kursk Oblast, Russia claims * Pokrovsk residents have 2 weeks to evacuate as Russian forces advance, authorities say * Denmark announces $115 million military aid package, says supplied equipment can
About 930,000 Ukrainians liable for military service are temporarily exempted from military service, while their number may reach one million in a week, Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Havryliuk said.
Putin arrived in Baku for talks with his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev for the first time since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The statement came after President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested in his Aug. 17 evening address that the U.K.'s "real leadership" on weapons and politics had "slowed down" amid London's hesitation to allow the use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles against targets on Russian soil.
Ville Mykkanen is the fifth known Finnish volunteer fighter to have been killed fighting for Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war.
According to Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, the explosion was caused by a liquified gas fire, which is still being extinguished. There was no indication of any outside interference at the time of this publication.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit will take place on Aug. 23, Ukraine's Presidential Office said. The visit, which was first announced by Indian media in July, will be the first Indian prime minister's trip to Ukraine in the history of bilateral relations between the two nations.
The Prosecutor General's Office claimed that the Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ) "carries out work aimed at discrediting Russia on a Hollywood scale."
This number includes 1,200 casualties Russian forces suffered over the past day.
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova denied on Aug. 18 a report that the country was entering indirect talks with Ukraine in Qatar on mutually halting strikes on energy infrastructure.
Key developments on Aug. 17-18: * Ukraine claims another key bridge destroyed in Kursk Oblast * Syrskyi says Ukrainian forces 'strengthen' their positions in Kursk Oblast * Belarus moved third of its army to Ukraine border due to what Lukashenko claims was misunderstanding * German Foreign Ministry refutes claims that Berlin will not provide
Russian troops attacked different settlements in Donetsk Oblast, killing four people and injuring four more on Aug. 18, Donetsk Oblast Prosecutor's Office reported.
Poland has come under particular scrutiny in recent days over the act of sabotage which is still being investigated, with a former head of Germany’s foreign intelligence agency, BND, earlier this week claiming it could not have been carried out without Warsaw's support.
This number includes 1,170 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
"Nuclear power plants are designed to be resilient against technical or human failures and external events including extreme ones, but they are not built to withstand a direct military attack."
"The reports that Germany is allegedly stopping military aid to Ukraine are incorrect," Heorhy Tykhyi, a spokesman for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry, told Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform. "This is the same kind of manipulation as the previous reports about halving aid for the next year."
"Yesterday, it subsided at 10:30 p.m., and today, it started again at 3:15 a.m. We are approaching 3 billion service requests in two days," said Oleh Horokhovskyi, the bank's co-owner, on Aug. 17.
"The only way to stop the glide bombs is to hit the air bases used by those Russian planes; and the only way to hit those bases is to use the Western kit they already have," he said.
Ukrainian forces have "strengthened" their positions in Russia's Kursk Oblast as their operation in the Russian region continues, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported to President Volodymyr Zelensky on Aug. 17.
This number includes 1,230 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Key developments on Aug. 16: * Ukrainian forces destroyed bridge over Seim River in Kursk Oblast, Russian authority claims * U.S. reluctant to allow ATACMS in Kursk Oblast due to limited supply, CNN reports * Myrnohrad residents evacuating as Russian forces reach 6 km from the town * Ukraine reportedly strikes ferry crossing
Ukrainian forces destroyed a bridge over the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Alexey Smirnov, the region's acting governor, claimed on Aug. 16.
The saber of Olga Kharlan, a Ukrainian fencer and Olympic gold medalist, sold for Hr 10 million (about $242,000) at an auction, the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation said on Aug. 15.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) detained the heads of the Bucha and Boryspil military enlistment offices over a suspected corruption scheme that allowed men to evade the draft, the SBU and the Prosecutor General’s Office said on Aug. 16.
Hungary's decision to ease entry rules for Russians "may constitute a serious security risk," leaders of Nordic and Baltic countries said in a joint letter to European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson on Aug. 16.
"People are leaving, but not as quickly or urgently as we would like and as the situation requires," administration head Yurii Tretiak said on air on RFE/RL, adding that 20,000 remain there, including around 1,000 children.
Russia downed 12 ATACMS launched overnight by Ukraine as part of an attack on the Crimean Bridge, Russian state-controlled news agency RIA Novosti reported on Aug. 16, citing the Russian Defense Ministry.
The legalization of medical cannabis entered into force in Ukraine on Aug. 16, allowing veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and people with serious illnesses such as cancer to access the drug.
Russian opposition figure and journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza visited the White House upon his return to the U.S. after being freed from Russian prison, U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Aug. 15.
The U.S. is reluctant to allow Ukraine to use its long-range weapons inside Kursk "not because of the risk of escalation, but because the US only has a limited supply," CNN reported on Aug. 16, citing multiple unnamed U.S. officials.
This number includes 1,330 casualties Russian forces suffered just over the past day.
Kirby declined to assess the Ukrainian operation in Kursk Oblast but said that the U.S. was monitoring Russia's reaction and the redeployment of its troops.
